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wildlife matters Spring 2016 AWC-Defence partnership to protect Kimberley jewel Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 1 Saving Australia’s threatened wildlife Welcome to the Spring 2016 edition of Wildlife Matters. The AWC mission As you will discover in the following pages, this is a particularly important edition The mission of Australian Wildlife because it highlights the increasing success of our innovative conservation model and Conservancy (AWC) is the effective its application by AWC both on our own land and in conjunction with partners such as conservation of all Australian animal national parks agencies and the Defence Department. species and the habitats in which they live. In the Kimberley, AWC has been contracted by the Defence Department to deliver To achieve this mission our actions are land management and science across the country’s second-largest military training focused on: area. The Yampi Sound Military Training Area (Yampi) is one of Australia’s great natural areas, covering over 560,000 hectares of rugged sandstone ranges, rainforest • Establishing a network of sanctuaries patches, wetlands and stunning coastline. It is a vital refuge for some of Australia’s which protect threatened wildlife and most threatened species. This ground-breaking partnership – the first of its kind ecosystems: AWC now manages 26 sanctuaries covering over between Defence and a conservation organisation – is set to establish a template for 3.8 million hectares (9.5 million acres). the conservation management of other Defence properties. • Implementing practical, on-ground In western Queensland, AWC scientists have uncovered the largest known conservation programs to protect population of the endangered (and elusive) Night Parrot at Diamantina National Park. the wildlife at our sanctuaries: these AWC is developing a novel partnership with the Queensland Government, which will programs include feral animal control, deliver integrated conservation for a range of threatened species – including Kowari, fire management and the translocation Bilby, Plains Wanderer and, of course, the Night Parrot – at Diamantina and the nearby of endangered species. Astrebla Downs National Park. • Conducting (either alone or in Meanwhile, in the Pilliga forests of northern NSW, AWC has undertaken an extensive collaboration with other organisations) biological survey as part of another historic public-private partnership. Working with scientific research that will help address the key threats to our native wildlife. the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, AWC is set to reintroduce mammal species which are listed as extinct in NSW, such as the Brush-tailed Bettong. Our • Hosting visitor programs at our baseline survey – the first significant survey in the northern Pilliga – generated exciting sanctuaries for the purpose of education records of Koalas, Barking Owls, Superb Parrots and Black-striped Wallabies. and promoting awareness of the plight of Australia’s wildlife. Elsewhere across the AWC estate – the largest non-government conservation estate in Australia – our dedicated field staff continue to deliver effective land management (especially fire management and feral animal control), and world class science, often in About AWC remote and challenging conditions. It is a model that works, as evidenced by metrics • AWC is an independent, non-profit which track the population of key indicator species and our ability to limit the impact of organisation based in Perth, Western threats, such as wildfire. Australia. Donations to AWC are tax deductible. Most importantly, AWC is delivering success – such as higher populations of threatened species, including Numbats, Bilbies and Bettongs – at lower cost. In • Over the last 10 years, around 87% of 2015/16, only 16% of our total operating expenditure was incurred on fundraising and AWC’s total expenditure was incurred administration – much lower than any comparable organisation in our sector. on conservation programs, including land acquisition, while only 13% was Thank you for your generous support of AWC: our achievements to date have been allocated to development (fundraising) possible only with your support. As you read this edition of Wildlife Matters, you can and administration. be sure that your tax deductible donations are delivering a tangible dividend where it counts – in the field. I hope you will continue to invest in our practical and effective conservation model – we are delighted to have you as part of the AWC team, helping to protect and restore Australia’s threatened wildlife. Australian Wildlife Conservancy Yours sincerely PO Box 8070 Subiaco East WA 6008 Ph: +61 8 9380 9633 www.australianwildlife.org Atticus Fleming Cover image: Chief Executive McLarty Range, Yampi Sound Training Area 2 Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 Bringing back the Bilby Greater Bilby at Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary W Lawler The Greater Bilby is set to return to south-western Australia for the first time in several decades. Working with our partners, including the WA Department of If current trends continue for other Bilby populations, AWC Parks and Wildlife and the Zoo and Aquarium Association, AWC projects will protect over half of the world’s Bilbies within the is set to reintroduce Bilbies to Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary next decade. within the next few months. The historic translocation is the Estimated Increase in next step in AWC’s program to restore wild Bilby populations Project Bilby pop global pop across Australia. Mt Gibson 600 6% The Bilby population has suffered a catastrophic decline in the Newhaven (stage 1) 700 7% last 150 years. Once found from the Great Dividing Range in eastern Australia to the edge of the Swan Coastal Plain and Newhaven (stage 2) 4,000 40% the Jarrah forests of the south-west, the Bilby is now extinct Pilliga 660 6.6% across 80% of its former range. It clings to survival in isolated, generally low density populations in arid Australia. The impact Mallee Cliffs 860 8.6% of feral predators – foxes and cats – has pushed the Bilby to the TOTAL 6,820 68.2% brink of extinction. Less than 10,000 mature individuals remain and this number continues to decline. At Mt Gibson, the first Bilbies are scheduled for release this AWC is leading the way in the fight to restore Bilby populations. summer. Twenty Bilbies will be airlifted from Scotia and We currently protect around 15% of the remaining Bilby Yookamurra, with 20-30 additional Bilbies sourced from population, with almost 1,400 wild Bilbies occurring at Scotia WA Parks and Wildlife (Barna Mia) and the captive breeding Wildlife Sanctuary (western NSW) and Yookamurra (South program managed by the Zoo and Aquarium Association. A Australia). genetic analysis by the Australian Museum will help inform the selection of the founder population for Mt Gibson. The return of Bilbies to Mt Gibson is the next step in a national program of reintroductions by AWC and our partners, which will dramatically increase the population of Bilbies and the Please help return the Bilby to Mt Gibson number of secure wild populations. Existing AWC projects are set to increase the Bilby population by almost 7,000 animals Please donate to help with the cost of airlifting Bilbies (70%) over the next 5 – 10 years (see table). Together with our to Mt Gibson; purchasing transmitters; and supporting existing Bilby population of around 1,400 animals, AWC and our field ecologists who will oversee the historic return of partners will then protect over 8,000 Bilbies. Bilbies to south-western Australia. Visit www.australianwildlife.org or use the donation form with this edition of Wildlife Matters. Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 3 AWC-Defence partnership to protect Kimberley jewel Yampi includes around 700 kilometres of stunning coastline Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and the Department of Defence (Defence) have forged a ground-breaking partnership to deliver conservation and land management across Australia’s second-largest military training area. Yampi Sound Training Area (Yampi), which covers over 560,000 AWC have combined to establish an innovative partnership, which hectares along the Kimberley coast, is one of the most will protect the environment on Yampi consistent with its use as a important sites for conservation in Australia. Yampi is also an military training area. It is the first partnership of its kind between important site for the Australian Defence Force and maintaining Defence and a non-government organisation in Australia and has it in a sustainable manner is a priority for Defence. the potential to be a model for wider application. The historic Yampi partnership will see Australian Defence Force Central to the success of the partnership will be the involvement use of the training area integrated with the enhanced protection of Yampi’s traditional owners – the Dambimangari people. The of several of Australia’s most endangered species. This includes mammals, such as the Golden-backed Tree-rat, that have initiative will deliver a significant increase in Dambimangari disappeared from large areas of mainland Australia and are now involvement at Yampi through employment as part of the AWC on- making a last stand along the north-west Kimberley coast. ground team, training and ongoing engagement in the design and delivery of fire management and other land management strategies. Protecting one of Australia’s great natural areas In the late 1970’s, the Commonwealth Government acquired two large pastoral leases (Kimbolton and Oobagooma), combining them to establish
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